A Marked Man
by AnakinsFavorite
Summary: POTC inspired When Luke goes to investigate a mysteriously abandoned Star Destroyer, he encounters a most unlikely presence...
1. I Sure Could Use a Jar of Dirt

**Title: **A Marked Man

**Author:** AnakinsFavorite

**Characters:** Anakin, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and other characters to come (see summary for more clues)

**Summary:** This is a fic inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean. After the Rebel Alliance discovers that one of the Imperial Dreadnaughts has been abandoned, they send Luke to investigate this mystery. There, he finds only more secrets and a person who was supposed to be dead… Sacrifices are made and bonds formed as the Rebellion gains another member who will ultimately lead them to their victory… or doom.

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own Star Wars (believe me, if I did, I would be shoving it in all everyone's faces. Also, I do not own Pirates… but you all know that!

**Chapter 1: Sure Could Use a Jar of Dirt**

It was kind of eerie, walking without hinder through the Star Destroyer's corridors when having done so a mere week ago would have meant certain death. Luke's boots made low scraping sounds as he explored, each of the sounds making him jump.

Leia had begged him not to go- that sister-like quality did always stand out whenever she was being stubborn about something- which had not worked, and Han wisecracked that 'the kid' was going to his death. Lead by his curiosity, Luke nevertheless found himself in the bowls of the ship.

For reasons unexplained and in a way that could not be determined, the Star Destroyer's crew had abruptly abandoned it a week earlier. Since then, the vessel had floated through the emptiness of space, its captain and crew gone.

Luke was there to find out why.

Never before had something of this magnitude happened. There was no sign of a struggle- no blood stained the walls and empty rooms. No ship malfunctions or damage could be detected nor was noted in the ships logs.

Still, it was apparently abandoned. In the bridge, computers flashed, waiting for their users to return to their duties. The cabins were filled with the Imperial's belongings, nothing removed nor displaced.

Days of no sleep began to take its toll on Luke, and without even realizing it, he nodded off to sleep. Had he know that someone was watching him, Luke would probably not have done so…

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For some reason, Luke suddenly twitched and his eyes flew open. His right hand strayed to his lightsaber as the thudding of his heart increased.

No one was there. Only the sight of the flashing screens greeted him.

Sighing and running a shaky hand through his blond hair, Luke settled back into his seat but no longer felt like sleeping. He knew why he'd awoken.

Someone had been there.

There was no physical evidence of this. Nothing had changed in his surroundings, yet Luke had the uncanny feeling that someone was watching him as he slept, hidden somewhere in the darkness of his grim surroundings. Still, even with his meager Jedi skills, Luke knew that there was something going on that wasn't quite right.

With no sudden movements, Luke stood up and slowly walked out of the vast room with his lightsaber in hand. As he stepped out into the hallway, the young Rebel looked for the strong presence he had felt.

Obi-Wan had spoken of being able to feel others through the Force, and though he'd never tried to do so, Luke knew that this had been what he'd experienced and that the being he'd felt was familiar.

Through many an empty passage and rooms he stole, pausing here and there to check his exposed back.

No one.

A slight noise off in the hallway to Luke's right caused him to jump. Luke had been right- someone was one the ship with him, but who?

Cautiously and with more than a little trepidation, Luke slowly stepped towards the room, only too aware that his breathing seemed uncommonly loud in the darkness.

At first, he thought it was a trick of the darkness, but soon swore he saw something in the shadows. The presence he'd felt began to increase in strength until it began to nearly overwhelm Luke.

Silently cursing himself because of his seemingly unending clumsiness, Luke held up his lightsaber in a defensive position. "What are you?" he whispered.

Though Luke had hardly been expecting for a reply, Luke was nevertheless disappointed when he was only met with silence.

Everything became so still and quiet that he could have sworn that he heard breathing. Turning on his flashlight, he looked at the bed but saw that no one hid there, no in the closet.

Suddenly, a large shadow in the corner shifted, causing Luke to jump.

"Come out and show yourself!" Luke commanded though he was feeling rather terrified.

The shadows shifted again without warning, and the being concealed within revealed himself.

Luke found himself staring at a young man who seemed vaguely familiar and slightly resembled himself. His features were mostly hidden by a cloak whose hood was pulled up over his face.

Pulling his hood back, the man revealed that his face was framed with wavy blond hair. Blue eyes identical to Luke's blinked in the dim light.

"My name is Anakin Skywalker, and I am a human like yourself," the man whispered.

Then, without warning, his handsome visage disappeared. In the next moment, Luke resisted the urge to cry out as a corpse-like face covered Anakin's previously handsome one. Gone was the dark robes he'd worn- tattered one's hung off his gaunt and burned form.

"I just wanted to see you with my own eyes so I could tell _her_."

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**Coming Next: Both father and son have odd requests to make of each other, but will they be able to sacrifice for the other?**

**Note: Don't worry- you will find out all about Anakin's past soon enough!**

**Yeah, I know I am insane for starting yet another fic, but my Fridays look awfully dull! Feel free to comment (welcome lurkers) - I love replies. I will be updating whenever I feel like it, but I am aiming for most Fridays!**


	2. He's My Son

**Chapter 2: He's My Son**

At this, Luke took a step back from the wraith and nearly lost his balance in the process. "No," he finally said, feverishly shaking his head. "My father is dead- he was killed by a Sith named Darth Vader- you are just a ghost or shape shifter come to haunt me!"

"I was Darth Vader, my son," Anakin said unblinkingly though he seemed hurt by Luke's accusation.

Horror filled Luke's being but he found that he could not walk away from the disturbing person.

"Who told you that?" the stranger asked curtly, anger flashing in his bright blue eyes. For a minute, Luke didn't doubt that the man who called himself his father had once been a dangerous Sith Lord.

Under the heaviness of the older man's gaze, Luke looked down at his feet in shame. "A very wise old man," he finally admitted. 

"Obi-Wan," the man breathed.

Luke gasped and snapped his head up. "You knew Crazy Ben Kenobi?" A flush spread across his face at this harmless slip.

A ghost of a smile spread across Anakin's face. "Let's just say that, even though I might have called him that, though I never said it to his face." As he took a small step forward, such light was cast on his features so that Luke could better see him.

But this was not foremost on Luke's mind anymore- he was only too well realizing the horrible truth though his heart didn't want to accept it. He just couldn't. 

"He was my Master and dear friend."

"You can't be," Luke murmured. "You're dead!"

At this, Anakin laughed in such a way that sent shivers up Luke's spine, made even creepier by his startling appearance. "I am as good as dead, Luke." 

"But Ben- Obi-Wan- said that…"

"There are a good many things that he did not know," his father said sadly. Fully stepping out of the shadows, Anakin began to pace about Luke with his hands clasped behind his back though the other man noticed his limp. "I should have been dead- what happened to me would have killed any other being." Another uneasy smile crossed his face, more bittersweet than heartfelt. "Sidious offered me all that I had lost if…" he said, putting an emphasis on the word 'if', "if I consented to be his slave for the next twenty years."

"You gave in," Luke spat bitterly, feeling an odd resentment to the man who had fathered him.

"I did, but not willingly," Anakin said defensively, holding up a charred finger. "I soon realized the folly of my hasty decision and eventually turned my own blade against my ruined flesh." He hung his head while the horrorstruck Luke watched on. "These were my quarters, and I was to haunt here until a living being discovered me, the one I had chosen."

"That's why this ship was abandoned," Luke finally managed to say in a weak voice. "You killed yourself-"

"Only to escape my torment. I became one with the Force," Anakin whispered, his ragged cloak brushing against Luke, "but the memories of what I did and what I had left behind haunted me. I was a cursed spirit, never to be at peace. "

"But if you were one with the Force, surely…" 

"I had lost _her_."

Confused, Luke didn't say anything.

Seeing the puzzlement in his son's eyes, Anakin whispered, "Your mother, my angel."

This only dumbfounded Luke. Darth Vader, the Sith who slaughtered without mercy, had loved a person so deeply?

"Palpatine had taken her away from me, and the Force forbade us to be reunited," Anakin spat bitterly. "Cursed, I had to for an eternity endure that I could never see her beautiful face again."

"That's… cruel," Luke offered lamely.

Anakin nodded. "A suffering of the worst kind. For the rest of eternity, I shall neither be able to see nor feel her." His eyes flitted shut and he took a deep breath as if he smelled her sweet aroma. "I know she's there, watching me… but I can't feel her, not even in the Force." 

"Come back with me!" Luke cried out a bit impulsively. 

Surprise showed on the older man's face. "Go back with you?" he echoed. "I only wanted to see you- for _her_. I never wanted you to see me… like this," Anakin said in a haunted voice, already slithering back into the shadows.

"No!" Luke cried out. In a moment of desperation, he reached out and grabbed Anakin's broad shoulder.

Instantly, the other man stopped at this contact and stared down at where his son's hand still rested. "I can't," he whispered. "I'll bring with me a suffering that you cannot…"

"But I'd have a father," Luke whispered, not loosening his hold but stepping closer to the former Sith. "I know that's what you want, _Father_." 

In an act that shocked Luke, Anakin hung his head. "There is one little thing that I didn't tell you… your mother sent me here to make peace, and after doing so, I would be allowed a momentary glimpse at her if I succeeded." Here, his voice choked. "By leaving this ship, I would forfeit that blessed chance." 

"Please!" Luke begged, dangerously close to losing the one thing he'd always wanted- not a new speeder or new holo game, but a parent. "It is not fair- you got to have her for many years but I just met you and you would rather be with her than me! I am sure that was not what Mother would have wanted!"

Beneath Luke's fingers, Anakin's body stiffened in shock.

The man turned around sadly, but Luke was greeted not with the sight of charred flesh but the handsome face of his Jedi father. "Yes, I am sure of that too."

With Luke leading the way, father and son strode out of the room towards whatever fate awaited them. 

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**Coming Next: Luke tries to bond with his father by begging to hear about his past. Warning-extrememly AU territory ahead. After the third post, many of the following ones will be a flashback from Anakin's troubled past.**


	3. Of Shuttles and Gloves

**Chapter 3: Of Shuttles and Gloves**

"Now, that is one fine ship," Anakin said, eyeing with bright blue eyes the Imperial shuttle Luke had come in.

"Ah… thanks," Luke said quickly, pretending to check its interior for damages. "I borrowed it-"

"As in… stole it?"

Whether it was from years of living with Uncle Owen or the uncertainty of his parent's mood, Luke expected to be reprimanded for stealing although the shuttle had been 'removed from the service' of the Empire. Because of this, he was surprised upon detecting a mixture of sadness and pride in his father's voice.

Nevertheless, Anakin said nothing more but followed the younger man into the shuttle, momentarily pausing to reverently stroke the smooth metal. All of this was noted by his son who eagerly watched him. "I heard you were a great pilot," Luke said, gesturing at the controls. 

"Who told you that?" Anakin asked with an odd quirk at the sides of his lips, the quirk moving to a full smile as Luke considered him eagerly.

"One of the Rebel admirals said that you were once the Republic's best pilots-"

"A feat that I have not the lack of humility to admit to," Anakin mumbled as he sat down though a faint blush came to his cheeks and he was obviously pleased. "No- I want to what all you can do." 

Silence ensued as Luke quickly got them out of the hangar, only then realizing how odd it was to be talking with his dead relative. Here was the father who had supposedly died long before Luke was born yet loved his son in a way that he wasn't all sure he deserved.

"You're pretty good," Anakin's voice broke through the gloom. "You remind me of…" he paused, nervously clearing his throat while stubbornly staring ahead.

"Who?" Luke asked curiously, glad that his father had ended the awkward moment.

Anakin's handsome face crinkled into a grin. "Oh, just a stubborn hotshot I used to know…"

Suddenly, Luke realized that he'd forgotten something rather important. "Blast! What am I going to tell Leia and the others?" How could he explain to him that his father was now… undead? To make it even more complicated, Anakin had long been a Sith and a leader of the Empire- would they believe his sudden change of heart?

"It is not too late to turn back, my son."

"I know."

It appeared that Anakin was brooding over something as he stared out of the viewport, but a sudden frown crossed his face. "Who is this lady friend of yours… Leia?"

A deep laughter filled the cockpit as Luke's cheeks went a pale pink. "Just a friend," he mumbled.

"Are you romantically involved with her?"

Luke found that he couldn't lie. "We kissed once… but I don't think so." A sudden thought dawned in his head. "You actually might have heard of her- she was the princess from Alderaan." 

Though Anakin blanched and gripped the seat of his chair, he managed to ask, "And what is her sire's name?"

"Organa- I think. Did you know him?"

"You could say that I served him during the Clone Wars."

"With Obi-Wan?" Luke asked, slowly starting to piece together the past.

"Unfortunately, yes," Anakin smirked despite himself. His blue eyes watched the passing stars, loneliness seemingly filling the small area. "It is so quiet out here," he murmured.

"It's been that way ever since the Empire," Luke said, in his distraction caused by calculating the coordinates not noticing how disturbed his father was. "No one dares to come out here unless they can help it." 

"I think that, slowly, my sins are going to be thrust upon me," Anakin said mournfully, going rather pale at the thought. 

"But I will be here to help you through it," Luke said boldly though he prayed he would be able to fulfill his obligation. 

"So," the other said in an attempt to change the subject, pointing back at the Imperial Dreadnaught, "what brought you to a place like that?"

"You, apparently."

"Good point," Anakin said hastily. "So, have you been fighting the Empire all your life?" The question was asked casually though Anakin was unable to keep his delight about his son out of his voice. 

A pause ensued as Luke sent them hurtling through hyperspace. "No," he finally said sadly, shaking his head, "I spent most of my life on a little planet most people have never heard of-" 

At this, Anakin said, "Try me."

"It's this sandy, windblown planet called-"

"Tatooine."

Luke started in surprised.

"I grew up there," his father said with great reluctance, "but I personally do not want to know how you wound up there."

"That's okay because I really don't know," Luke said in a puzzled way, not having thought about that before. "I only left because my aunt and uncle were killed." 

"That is a shame- they were good people. What happened to Cleigg?" Anakin asked rather fearfully.

"He did before I was born. Did you know him too?" Luke asked, starting to wonder if his father knew just about everyone.

"He was my stepfather, but that was a long time ago."

Evidentially, the conversation was ended.

Though he was contemplating something, Luke's eyes kept flickering over to where Anakin's gloved hand rested. To his relief, the other man did not notice, but he suddenly blurted out, "Why do you wear a glove on one hand but not the other?" he asked offhandedly as if that had not been the subject of his musing for the past several minutes.

"Long story," was the terse reply.

"We have a long time before we reach base," Luke said hopefully, momentarily fearing that his father's stubbornness was going to flare up attain.

"We just met, and all you want to know about me is why I prefer to wear a glove on one hand but not the other?"

"You said it was a long story," Luke said with a roguish grin.

"Fine," Anakin sighed, a weary look crossing his face, and, for a moment, his son feared that his father was changing his mind, "but, for the record, all of this was Obi-Wan's fault." 

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**Coming Next: The following several posts shall delve into Anakin's troubling and AU past.**


	4. A Day Not Forgotten

**Chapter 4: A Day Not Forgotten**

Groaning contentedly, Anakin rolled over onto his back to find a pair of beautiful brown eyes watching him that occasionally fluttered in exhaustion. "Is it morning yet, my love?" he whispered, pulling his wife back into his embrace and sighing as she snuggled up against him.

"Fate seems to have a way of pulling us apart just as we've found each other's arms," Padmé murmured, lazily caressing his skin though her eyes drifted shut. "I guess it's up to me to do the hard part," the Senator said wryly. Despite the fact that Anakin playfully held onto her slender waist, she wiggled in his embrace and, with great difficulty, got out of the bed.

Upon seeing her mixed emotions about their eminent-parting, Anakin gladly held out his muscular arms towards her and laughed as Padmé fervently shook her head.

"You know me better than to tempt me like that, Master Skywalker," she smoldered, winking mischievously before rushing into the 'fresher and locking the door.

"I'm not a Master yet!" Anakin called out as he laboriously sat up, doubting that she could hear him over the sound of rushing water.

Suddenly, the water stopped and Padmé poked her head out of the 'fresher. "In _my_ bedroom, Master Jedi," she said imperiously though her eyes twinkled, "I shall call you whatever I wish."

It seemed that Anakin's reflexes hadn't quite caught up with him that early in the morning, for he soon found himself facing the locked door. "Women," the Jedi muttered though he wasn't the least bit disconcerted.

After fifteen minutes, though, of waiting for his wife to reemerge, Anakin became bored and wandered about the room in search of something with which to amuse himself.

He soon discovered that nothing could so aptly hold his attention as the glowing anger who came back into his presence. Today, she wore not the cumbersome accoutrement of a busy senator but that of a young woman who wished to please her husband. The most expensive red cloth covered her slender body, and her hair was held up with pins whose red jewels accentuated her full lips.

It took Anakin a full minute to realize that she was holding a closed hand out to him. When he looked at her questioningly, Padmé slowly opened her hand to revel the same japor snippet that he'd given to her many years ago as a naive child who adored a young woman many levels above his lowly status. 

"This has brought me good luck," she whispered as she gently placed the chain over his head so that the pendant rested against Anakin's chest. "I no longer have a need for it- I wish to give you the one thing I love most."

Their lips met in a kiss that spoke of words they cold not find but, when they slowly broke apart, Anakin found that Padmé was looking at him wryly. 

"I guess it's up to me to do the hard part," the Jedi said quietly. Kissing her forehead, Anakin held her away from him and caressed her arms.

"I have something which I wish to show you," she said with a loving smile as she gently brushed his face with her soft hand, "but you must get dressed first." 

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Minutes later, he found himself being led along with Padmé's small hand in his towards her office. "No one has ever seen this before," she said quietly, her eyes darting about warily for snooping handmaidens.

"I've been in your study many a time," Anakin chuckled, only sobering when she did not laugh. 

"But I can assure you that you have never seen this."

A slight push on one of the shelves behind her desk revealed a narrow corridor.

"Is it safe?" Anakin asked dubiously. 

"Quite," she smiled, resting her hands gently on the Jedi's back and guiding him into the darkness.

"What-" Anakin began to say but suddenly became quiet as his led bumped into something hard.

A light suddenly shone through the darkness and he soon found that Padmé had used a little device to do so. Feeling that this excursion was of some importance, Anakin watched her hand lower until it revealed a previously invisible candle. After she lit it, the light steadily grew until Anakin saw that the ornament rested on a golden table, and lying on the floor were many plush pillows.

To his surprise, she brought him down on his knees and knelt before him. "Every day that you were gone, I would mourn you as if you were dead," she said softly, only her sad eyes visible in the darkness. "I cried and missed you every hour of every day, but I found solace here." Anakin heard her take in a shaky breath. "Every time you left me, I lit a candle and kept it burning until your return. " A somewhat bitter laugh followed this confession. "OI have gone through so many candles these past three years, and with each one that I extinguished the flame, I knew that you were only closer to coming back to me for good."

"But the flame is lit," Anakin noted in confusion, this thought foremost in his mind though her speech certainly moved him.

Even through the darkness, he could tell that a beautiful smile had graced Padmé's lips. "Anakin, do you not remember what day it is?"

It was their anniversary.

"I could never forget something so important as that," he whispered, raising the hands he still held to his lips and kissing them tenderly. "Give me your vows once more!" Anakin suddenly cried out passionately. 

"Anakin!" Padmé gasped though her voice soon quieted down to a whisper.

As the candle burned and eventually went out, the husband and wife resealed the fate which had brought them together many years before, one that could not break nor age diminish. 

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**Next Chapter- Anakin accompanies Padmé to the Senate only to be devastated when the unlikely happens. **


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